


Parchment, Bottles, True Love and Happy Endings

by DEx Hooker (FangBanger)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-25
Packaged: 2018-03-11 05:19:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3315608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FangBanger/pseuds/DEx%20Hooker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having watched Emma leave Storybrooke with no memories of her pirate, Killian vows to keep his promise to think of her daily.  With a bottle of rum in hand, parchment and quills never far, and a heart so broken he can hardly breathe, so begins a year's worth of letters placed into bottles and tossed into the briny sea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Parchment, Bottles, True Love and Happy Endings  
> Part: 1/? - Day One  
> Author: Roguie et al.  
> Fandom: Once Upon a Time  
> Characters: Killian Jones, Killian/Emma  
> Spoilers: Up to and including S3 finale, no S4 involved.  
> Summary: Having watched Emma leave Storybrooke with no memories of her pirate, Killian vows to keep his promise to think of her daily. With a bottle of rum in hand, parchment and quills never far, and a heart so broken he can hardly breathe, so begins a year's worth of letters in bottles tossed into the briny sea.  
> Disclaimer: OuaT doesn't belong to me. I can no more control the princess and the pirate than I can control the fact that we are STILL in hiatus and I am slowly losing my mind.  
> A/N: I find I haven't been writing much lately, mostly due to my schedule at work and utter laziness once I manage to finally get home. This is going to be more of a writing exercise for me than it is anything else – each chapter will be between 100-500 words in length, a letter told from Killian's point of view during that year he spent alone. Will I write 365 of them? Maybe. That will depend, I suppose, on how many people wish to read words never meant to be read from a pirate who's heart was never meant to be broken anew. Enjoy.

~~~?~~~

My dearest Emma,

It has been mere hours since we said our goodbyes at the border to the confounded town that brought us together. I promised you then that not a day would go by without my thinking of you, and though I've no way to prove to you my complete honesty in that statement, I wanted to assure you that not a single moment has passed without your presence in my thoughts.

Unending time stretches out before me, love, a future devoid of your presence, and I cannot even begin to explain how bleak a horizon it provides. I know that you are safe, that you are with your lad, that you have no memory of myself or those who surround me and as such you suffer not the pain of separation. I envy you your loss of memory for I fear shards of glass are cutting through my heart with its every beat, and more so I fear that until we are reunited this feeling will not subside.

In my realm, those of us who have lived a life at sea have a tradition; once we have emptied the bottles of alcohol that have numbed our aching hearts, we fill the glass with a letter to those that have left us broken and toss it into the waters. If our words are meant to reach the eyes of our torturers, the bottles will float to the very shore necessary to be found. If our words are meant never to be heard, the bottles will never again be seen. I'm sure you can imagine how few bottles wash ashore.

Your mother has caught me writing this, love, and she's gone and named this activity a catharsis for my broken soul. Though I find she means well, they have thrown themselves into reuniting the towns people rather than dwell upon the loss of you and your lad; I cannot spend my days with their eternal optimism, when I know the bleakness that is my future will do nothing but cast shadow over what they are attempting to achieve. I will see their camp settled tonight, but come morning I will separate myself from their presence. Perhaps I'll have luck at locating the Jolly. If not, perhaps then the search will be enough to distract my thoughts from you.

I am hopeless, Swan, in a world of my creating. I no longer have my revenge to fuel my will to live. I no longer have a quest upon which to prove my worth. I have very little with which to survive, and yet, the worst factor in this life we have chosen? I no longer have you to remind me that I am part of this band of merry wanderers.

My heart aches at the sight of your parents, love, for I am reminded too much of what I have lost. I fear the man that will appear in the hole you have left upon my heart.

Your father approaches now, with a determined look upon his countenance. I fear he's derived my intentions to leave and has taken it upon himself to convince me otherwise. Perhaps it will give me something to tell you tomorrow, for I shall write these letters every day until I am left once again gratefully drowning in your presence.

Farewell, my love.

Always your pirate,   
Captain Killian Jones

~~~TBC~~~

Remember, much like magic, all muses come with a price. This muse's price is that little box down below. Please don't make her chase you for payment, it seems a bloody awful waste of her time, don't you agree?


	2. Day Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Parchment, Bottles, True Love and Happy Endings  
> Part: 2/? - Day Two  
> Author: Roguie et al.  
> Fandom: Once Upon a Time  
> Characters: Killian Jones, Killian/Emma  
> Spoilers: Up to and including S3 finale, no S4 involved.  
> Summary: Having watched Emma leave Storybrooke with no memories of her pirate, Killian vows to keep his promise to think of her daily. With a bottle of rum in hand, parchment and quills never far, and a heart so broken he can hardly breathe, so begins a year's worth of letters in bottles tossed into the briny sea.  
> Disclaimer: OuaT doesn't belong to me. I can no more control the princess and the pirate than I can control the fact that we are STILL in hiatus and I am slowly losing my mind.

~~~?~~~

My dearest Emma,

I was correct in my assumption with regards to your father. The prince approached me to stay as I was packing away the supplies I admittedly pilfered from the camp. Neither he nor your mother stopped me from loading my satchel with food I had procured from the old woman and her granddaughter, for which I will always remain grateful, however the look in his eyes as I prepared to ride away leads me to believe I have burned the tentative bridge we had forged between us. For that, I am truly sorry, love, I meant not to insult your parents with my departure, but I could no longer bear to look into the eyes that you inherited, or hear the laugh so similar to your own; I could hardly continue watching as your mother falls so easily into her role as princess of this land, her confidence a mirror for your own when a situation demands control.

They can hardly understand that every single action they take reminds me painfully of the fact you are not here. Since the moment we met, you have been my anchor, Swan. You have kept me grounded, kept me honest, and if we are truly being honest here, love, you've kept me occupied so as to keep me out of trouble. Without you, I see no point in continuing to be the man you helped nurture from the withered pirate you first encountered, for that pirate was only half as heart broken then as this pirate is today. Perhaps in one of these letters, when I have had a bit of rum to warm my body and mourned you enough to numb my soul, I shall endeavour to tell you of my time with Milah. I know you know how it ended, love, but perhaps you should know how it began for it was the complete opposite of my love for you that I found myself tied to the dark one's wife. Where our love began with a whimper, Swan, my entire life with Milah began and ended with a bang. I will never for sure be able to say which method was a better start, but I fear today that I can reasonably admit choosing to leave you behind, love, hurts far worse than the sudden shock of Milah having been ripped from this world. I hate the very fact that you exist somewhere I can never again set foot; how am I to take pleasure in anything again, when the only pleasure I wish involves you?

I hasten to end this letter before you catch wind of my utter desolation. I am half a days travel from your father's camp and still it is far too close for my liking. I'll travel through the night, allow myself to be guided by the light of the moon, and perhaps when I lay down to rest beneath the heat of the sun tomorrow I'll not be as tortured by your memory as I was last night.

Farewell, my love.

Always your pirate,   
Captain Killian Jones

~~~TBC~~~

Remember, much like magic, all muses come with a price. This muse's price is that little box down below. Please don't make her chase you for payment, it seems a bloody awful waste of her time, don't you agree?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Parchment, Bottles, True Love and Happy Endings  
> Part: 3/? - Day Three  
> Author: Roguie et al.  
> Fandom: Once Upon a Time  
> Characters: Killian Jones, Killian/Emma  
> Spoilers: Up to and including S3 finale, no S4 involved.  
> Summary: Having watched Emma leave Storybrooke with no memories of her pirate, Killian vows to keep his promise to think of her daily. With a bottle of rum in hand, parchment and quills never far, and a heart so broken he can hardly breathe, so begins a year's worth of letters in bottles tossed into the briny sea.  
> Disclaimer: OuaT doesn't belong to me. I can no more control the princess and the pirate than I can control the fact that we are STILL in hiatus and I am slowly losing my mind.  
> A/N: I love you all for your kind reviews :) Each and every time someone says something about any of my fictions it makes my day that much brighter, so thank you everyone. That said, keep in mind that this story really has no clear direction – this is just a daily writing exercise I've challenged myself to so that I can ensure a couple hundred words a day get down on paper, especially on those days that I am far too busy or too tired to work on any of my more substantial fics. Will Emma find the bottles seems to be the greatest comment in all the reviews – I don't honestly know. I never meant for this fic to take perspective beyond the letters themselves. That said... I deeply believe in epilogues, so perhaps my muse can be convinced. Talk to her, I'm just the vessel here. ;)

~~~?~~~

My dearest Emma,

I have ridden as hard through the night as though you could be found at the end of my journey. The poor beast beneath me suffers from great exhaustion, as, in all honesty, do I. I have taken my rest next to a riverbed, the trickling sound of water, though faint compared to the call of the open sea, has admittedly bled some of the tension from my body.

I do not intend to sleep long through the morning, only enough to ensure my alertness when I reach the port I know to be only a few hours ride ahead. Though the forest appears quiet as I forge my path back to the sea, I will not soon forget that scoundrels and thieves lay thick among us. Laugh if you will, love, knowing that I once would be feared as such by my own well earned reputation, however I do not wish to lose touch with the small amount of coin nor the rations your parents saw fit to aide my way. Our battles on the cursed shores of Neverland taught me that twenty eight years frozen in place have aged my poor bones in ways time never could. I grow old and tired, love, worse now that I am alone in a land that has brought me nothing beyond centuries of suffering.

On one hand, I ride amongst these trees and foliage and the smell of them reminds me of days spent ashore with my brother, chopping wood for his cabin, hunting animals for our meals. Alternately, the closer I come to the sea, the closer I feel to the man I was when I had Milah by my side, the little harbour ahead no different than the very town in which we crossed paths, nor so much the town in which we met our separation. Yet even amongst these powerful thoughts, these memories I have carried with me through hundreds of years, through the pains of many battles both lost and won, through an eternity of looking upon them with eyes clouded by hatred, it is your face above all that rends open my battered heart. I simply cannot fathom how it has been three days since we made our farewells, and the pain is still as fresh as though I were only now watching you walk away. I had hoped to ease my personal despair by separating myself from your family, and yet still my heart aches with unending despair. I fear that this time it will not allow me to move on from what I have lost.

How much loss can a man suffer in a lifetime and still keep one foot moving ahead of the other? Am I being punished for the centuries I have stolen through Neverland's gifts and am now facing multiple lifetimes of pain as compensation? Could I still be the man you would give a proper chance if I allow the darkness of my suffering to consume me once more? These questions keep me from closing my eyes now, love, even as exhaustion has bled every ounce of fight from my frame.

I think perhaps I will forgo this feeble attempt at rest and rather the beast and I shall make our way leisurely to port. There, perhaps the gods will favour me as to provide a tavern and allow me the luxury of a rum or a mead to help put to rest my thoughts and finally allow me to sleep. Gods but I am weary, Emma. Would that I could retire in your warm arms.

 

Farewell, my love.

Always your pirate,   
Captain Killian Jones

~~~TBC~~~

Remember, much like magic, all muses come with a price. This muse's price is that little box down below. Please don't make her chase you for payment, it seems a bloody awful waste of her time, don't you agree?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Parchment, Bottles, True Love and Happy Endings  
> Part: 4/? - Day Four  
> Author: Roguie et al.  
> Fandom: Once Upon a Time  
> Characters: Killian Jones, Killian/Emma  
> Spoilers: Up to and including S3 mid season finale, some S3.5 allusions, no S4 involved.  
> Summary: Having watched Emma leave Storybrooke with no memories of her pirate, Killian vows to keep his promise to think of her daily. With a bottle of rum in hand, parchment and quills never far, and a heart so broken he can hardly breathe, so begins a year's worth of letters in bottles tossed into the briny sea.  
> Disclaimer: OuaT doesn't belong to me. I can no more control the princess and the pirate than I can control the fact that we are STILL in hiatus and I am slowly losing my mind.  
> A/N: Again, a quick reminder that this is a writing exercise. Gods love you people for reviewing it, however! It does a heart well to see all the mentions, reviews and favourites coming my way; it certainly hasn't hurt the other aspects of my writing in the least. :P~

~~~?~~~

My dearest Emma,

Luck has finally come to be on my side, love. You will not fathom whom I ran across in a tavern at port this evening! Of all people, it was Mr. Smee, my old first mate, and much less the rat than last we saw.

I know that you will understand my elation at finding Smee this evening, love, and that you would not endeavour to make me feel the guilt that clutches at my heart now as I write these words. Not for a single second did I forget to think of you, love, but for a few hours and many drinks, I was not alone or surrounded by the people who remind me most of you.

Sadly, he's not had word of the Jolly since his return to the Enchanted forest with the rest of the townsfolk. In fact, he appears quite confused; I believe the enchantment placed upon him only broke when the curse returned us to our prior abode, and the poor man has yet to recover from his life as a rat. Though I fear once we do recover the Jolly and he reasserts himself as my first mate aboard my ship, the insult bilge rat will take on an entirely new meaning when it is directed towards Mr. Smee. I wonder if he will find the insult quite as amusing as I do? Perhaps not. I suppose, in that respect, it is a good thing I Captain the ship and he has no say in what insults I sling in his direction.

You would have shown great pride in me tonight, Swan, as even provided copious amounts of alcohol at the bequest of my old companion, I found conversation far more stimulating than my previous desire to drink myself into unconsciousness. Smee believes he knows where several other members of my crew came ashore when the curse cloud cleared; I am hopeful that one of them came across the Jolly in the last days and nights they have been back in this land. Barring that, they could have information on the location of my crew members that were not affected by the curse, and therefore have spent the last twenty nine years trapped in this cursed land. Finding them had been my intention before Cora reminded me of my need to traverse realms, now with no such need barring my way, I look forward to reenlisting my crew mates on my quest to find the Jolly. I have known some of these men upwards of three hundred years. It will do my heart good to be amongst people who not only respect me as their comrade, but fear me as their captain. I've not had a decent minion under my command in far too long, love.

No matter who I find to join my quest in this land, Emma, don't for a second believe I'd want any of them by my side over you if I had been given the choice. Not one of those men is half as pretty to look at, no where near as enticing to hold in my arms when they make attempts upon my life, and not one of them can be forgiven for betraying me with the bat of pretty green eyes that I honestly believe were meant for the sole purpose of bringing down my defences. Go ahead and argue that, Swan, then say please in my presence and try to find that moment that I am unwilling to do as you bid. You own me so completely that that moment will never exist.

Still, though the weight of our separation lays upon my shoulders, for the first time in days I feel as though I've been given something positive to work towards. I look forward to the sun's rise tomorrow so that Smee and I can start on our journey to the rest of my crew. 

Farewell, my love.

Always your pirate,   
Captain Killian Jones

~~~TBC~~~

Remember, much like magic, all muses come with a price. This muse's price is that little box down below. Please don't make her chase you for payment, it seems a bloody awful waste of her time, don't you agree?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Parchment, Bottles, True Love and Happy Endings  
> Part: 5/? - Day Five  
> Author: Roguie et al.  
> Fandom: Once Upon a Time  
> Characters: Killian Jones, Killian/Emma  
> Spoilers: Up to and including S3 mid season finale, some S3.5 allusions, no S4 involved.  
> Summary: Having watched Emma leave Storybrooke with no memories of her pirate, Killian vows to keep his promise to think of her daily. With a bottle of rum in hand, parchment and quills never far, and a heart so broken he can hardly breathe, so begins a year's worth of letters in bottles tossed into the briny sea.  
> Disclaimer: OuaT doesn't belong to me. I can no more control the princess and the pirate than I can control the fact that we are STILL in hiatus and I am slowly losing my mind.  
> A/N: Again, a quick reminder that this is a writing exercise. Gods love you people for reviewing it, however! It does a heart well to see all the mentions, reviews and favorites coming my way – I've been leaping for my inbox every time a new mail notification comes in. You're all pretty awesome, you know that?

~~~?~~~

My Dearest Emma,

I have been too long removed from the pleasures of the Enchanted Forest. I awoke this morning with the most pounding ache in my head, caused no doubt by the spiced sin imbibed the night prior. I have grown far too accustomed to the watered down versions available in your realm, love, and now am suffering the consequences of a night well spent.

Rest assured, however, I did not partake in any of the other types of finery offered me last evening. No matter how low the bodice, no matter how wide the smile, no matter how genuine the offer, not a wench turned my head or shared the sheets on my bed. I realize the chance of reuniting with you, Swan, is minimal at best, however if the dreams of my heart are granted, I wish for nothing to lay between us. A simple dalliance today is not worth what could be my forever tomorrow. I have not lived as long as I have without learning some lessons, love; I will not take the small flicker of hope I have for granted any day soon to rise. 

That said, I fear this letter will be shorter than most as I hear Mr. Smee rustling about in his room next door. We will be off shortly to round up the men who made the journey back to this realm, and hopefully narrow down the location of the Jolly Roger. I look forward to this adventure with an honest fervor; I have convinced myself that I will feel less the lost boy I have become when I have my men surrounding me once again. It is a good feeling, Emma, to know there is something awaiting me at the end of a road well traveled, though now I suffer pangs of guilt at my fleeting happiness in this realm. It has only been five days, love; should I be allowed this small measure of joy so soon? 

I beg of you, do not doubt my affections even as the tone of my letters may change. I continue to miss you with every beat of my heart, my love, I assure you, but I have found distraction from the pain, at least momentarily. I shall bury the small pangs of guilt eating at the edges of my fresh outlook this morning with the consideration that perhaps if these letters were to find their way to your side, you will find some pleasure in the reading of my story, even though you have no memory of the emotions buried within. 

I know you would not want me to live out another lifetime of misery, Swan; your heart is far too pure to wish any further grief on my soul. As such, even as I refuse to move on, at the very least I shall endeavor to move forward.

I cannot imagine who taught me that lesson. 

(For the record, I know you have just rolled your pretty green eyes; has anyone ever mentioned how unbecoming it is of a princess to be quite your level of self satisfied? Especially when there is a pirate about willing to fulfill your every desire.)

Farewell, my love.

Always your Pirate,  
Captain Killian Jones

~~~TBC~~~

Remember, much like magic, all muses come with a price. This muse's price is that little review box down below. Please don't make her chase you for payment, it seems such a bloody awful waste of her time, wouldn't you agree?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Parchment, Bottles, True Love and Happy Endings  
> Part: 6/? - Day Six  
> Author: Roguie et al.  
> Fandom: Once Upon a Time  
> Characters: Killian Jones, Killian/Emma  
> Spoilers: Up to and including S3 mid season finale, some S3.5 allusions, no S4 involved.  
> Summary: Having watched Emma leave Storybrooke with no memories of her pirate, Killian vows to keep his promise to think of her daily. With a bottle of rum in hand, parchment and quills never far, and a heart so broken he can hardly breathe, so begins a year's worth of letters in bottles tossed into the briny sea.  
> Disclaimer: OuaT doesn't belong to me. I can no more control the princess and the pirate than I can control the fact that we are STILL in hiatus and I am slowly losing my mind.  
> A/N: Again, a quick reminder that this is a writing exercise. Gods love you people for reviewing it, however! It does a heart well to see all the mentions, reviews and favorites coming my way – I've been leaping for my inbox every time a new mail notification comes in. You're all pretty awesome, you know that?

~~~?~~~

My Dearest Emma,

Blast this infernal land! I have done naught for a day straight but ride through these ogre infested forests that do nothing for the disposition I have culled so evenly under your influence. We continue to search, in vain I fear, for the men who once accompanied me through centuries. I have yet to find a single one, though they were rumoured to have set up camp close to the town in which I found Smee.

Speaking of Smee, he continues to insist that my men are close by, though we have found not a trace of their trail. Perhaps they have taken to the waters with another captain? The sea is far too deeply in their veins to keep them ashore for long. How can I blame them their love for the open waters? Yet I do, love, I blame them with each step I take upon this muddy, mossy ground. 

I miss the sea. It reminds me of your eyes in ways no piece of land could possibly achieve. I wish to return to her arms, so that I may feel closer to yours. I am certain that my whimsical outlook upon our barely existent relationship would bring laughter to your lips, love, and once again I find myself lost in the memory of your rare smile.

Smee says we will travel another full day tomorrow until we reach a small coastal town where two of my men to have settled were said to have settled. The man insists that they spoke to him personally before setting out on their journey and named the town by its very title. I swear if tomorrow should turn out as today, I will lose a good portion of the positivity to which I hold. I find that I am patient only where you are concerned, Swan; in all other aspects of my existence, I wish gratification now.

I swore to move forward, love, however even a pirate as old as I needs something upon which to pin his hopes. It has been nigh on a week in this realm and I’ve found only Mr. Smee. The gods do not appear to be in my favour when it comes to quelling the lonliness I have unfortunately found once again.

Farewell, my love.

Always your Pirate,  
Captain Killian Jones

~~~TBC~~~

Remember, much like magic, all muses come with a price; this muse's price is that little review box down below. Please don't make her chase you for payment, it seems a bloody awful waste of her time, wouldn't you agree?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Parchment, Bottles, True Love and Happy Endings
> 
> Part: 7/? - Day Seven
> 
> Author: Roguie et al.
> 
> Fandom: Once Upon a Time
> 
> Characters: Killian Jones, Killian/Emma
> 
> Spoilers: Up to and including S3 mid season finale, some S3.5 allusions, no S4 involved.
> 
> Summary: Having watched Emma leave Storybrooke with no memories of her pirate, Killian vows to keep his promise to think of her daily. With a bottle of rum in hand, parchment and quills never far, and a heart so broken he can hardly breathe, so begins a year's worth of letters in bottles tossed into the briny sea.
> 
> Disclaimer: OuaT doesn't belong to me. I can no more control the princess and the pirate than I can control the fact that we are STILL in hiatus and I am slowly losing my mind.
> 
> A/N: Again, a quick reminder that this is a writing exercise. I had meant to update this every day, but things at work have grown difficult to say the least; I'm putting in 70 hour work weeks in a store with no trained staff beyond myself. Where as I do have the first 20 of these little tidbits written, I'm hardly awake more than an hour after I get home and usually that is to see to my dogs and forage some kind of nutrient for myself before I pass out completely. I'm afraid posting these little bits has fallen by the wayside; I'm slightly more awake tonight than normal – perhaps that comes from the adrenaline of waiting for reviews on The Ever Circling Path – so tonight you get an update. Thank God we're only 5 days to the premiere... I seriously need a distraction from reality! LOL

~~~?~~~

My Dearest Emma,

It has been seven days since I last set eyes on you, yet I feel a year has passed me by with the longing in my heart to be by your side.

Mr. Smee has succeeded in finding two of my old crew mates in this small town several days travel from your father's castle. It has been quite a time convincing them to join our travels as we move further up the coastline looking for several more of the Jolly's refugees. Alas, not one has lit eyes upon the Jolly since our return, however there have been rumours of a ship matching her description having set sail north three nights past. Once I have successfully rounded up a proper crew, I will turn my horse northwards as there are only a few ports where the Jolly would be welcome, no matter whose flag under which she sails now.

There are five of us now, enough to safely make camp in the woods as we travel. I will begin my travels north once I have a crew of ten capable men. If no further of my old crew reside along this coastline, I shall hire out the positions, though I fear finding the necessary commodities to ensure the rogue crew are properly paid. Never for a day have I struggled with a lack of riches before now. Once I have my ship returned, she will provide all I need, until then, I will have to find an alternate method of lining the pockets of my men. I almost regret leaving your parents' kingdom so swiftly; I do regret leaving without much more than could fit in my saddle satchel. I still have several hiding spots in which I safely stored a measure of my riches, however most were aboard the Jolly Roger, and are therefore lost to me for the time being.

I hesitate to do what I must to live in this infernal land as I, quite rightly, fear you will think less of me should I ever return to your side, love, but I am, at heart, a pirate, and shall do what is necessary for a man such as me to survive.

Forgive me, Swan.

Farewell, my love.

Always your Pirate,

Captain Killian Jones

~~~TBC~~~

Remember, much like magic, all muses come with a price. This muse's price is that little review box down below. Please don't make her chase you for payment, it seems a bloody awful waste of her time, wouldn't you agree?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Parchment, Bottles, True Love and Happy Endings
> 
> Part: 8/? - Day Eight
> 
> Author: Roguie et al.
> 
> Fandom: Once Upon a Time
> 
> Characters: Killian Jones, Killian/Emma
> 
> Spoilers: Up to and including S3 mid season finale, some S3.5 allusions, no S4 involved.
> 
> Summary: Having watched Emma leave Storybrooke with no memories of her pirate, Killian vows to keep his promise to think of her daily. With a bottle of rum in hand, parchment and quills never far, and a heart so broken he can hardly breathe, so begins a year's worth of letters in bottles tossed into the briny sea.
> 
> Disclaimer: OuaT doesn't belong to me. I can no more control the princess and the pirate than I can control the fact that we are STILL in hiatus and I am slowly losing my mind.
> 
> A/N: Again, a quick reminder that this is merely a writing exercise meant to keep my Hook voice sharp and practiced. Well, today was a complete write off. There I stood completely ready to put a few extra letters in a bottle for our dear misplaced pirate, and perhaps even finish the next part of the Ever Circling Path... when my regional decided to walk in and audit my store. Well, bugger. Ten hours, two butt chewings, a reminder to tan before we hit Mexico in April (don't ask), and a stress level that would likely impress a whole slew of air traffic controllers, later... all you get tonight is one single letter. Ah, well, there's always tomorrow.

~~~?~~~

My Dearest Emma,

I regret I have little to report as we five are still in journey to the next port up the coastline. Mr. Smee believes we will find two of my men in this town, and will easily be able to recruit the remaining three men I need to complete my barest crew.

I miss you still, love. My heart and body continue to remain true, although my growing crew are making my task most difficult. Mr. Smee imagines that my foul mood can be broken with the warmth of a woman; I managed last night to beg off as uninterested, however if this continues I will have to come up with a far better reasoning. I do not fancy the idea of telling my men that I am a victim of loving someone in an inaccessible realm, much less the fact that my feelings are quite probably not returned to the same degree. Most of my men had known Milah, and stood by my side in my quest for vengeance; they will not lightly accept that I have replaced her in my heart with another.

Fortunately, Mr. Smee's taste in women is far below my current standards; I can brush off my lack of interest without a word of lie.

I wonder, however, with no memory of myself or young Baelfire, how you will live out your days? Will something buried in your heart instruct you to remain true, or will my fidelity be for naught when I return to find you in another man's arms?

These are the questions that plague me late at night, love, when I should be at rest for the coming day's journey. My mind insists I will not hold against you any dalliance on your part, though I fear my heart insists otherwise as it breaks with the mere thought. Pray the days fly swiftly, Swan, and return me to your side so that there may be no question of fidelity once you've given me your heart.

Farewell, my love.

Always your Pirate,

Captain Killian Jones

~~~TBC~~~

Remember, much like magic, all muses come with a price. This muse's price is that little review box down below. Please don't make her chase you for payment, it seems a bloody awful waste of her time, wouldn't you agree?


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